Family gift guide

So Christmas is a day away. PANIC. Being single means no present buying for boyfriends, and I’m doing a secret santa kinda thing with all my girl friends, so it’s really just family that I have to buy for. Don’t be deceived, family is the hardest! So, I address this problem like any rational person would, I ask my lovely family members what they would like for Christmas. Every year it goes something like this:

Me: Mom, what do you want for Christmas?

Mother: I don’t want anything. Just love, and kindness. NO BATH STUFF.

(I have listened to her before and bought her ‘nothing’ for her birthday one year, she was not impressed. Lesson learnt – do not be fooled, she definitely wants a nice, thoughtful Christmas present. Shit)

Me: Dad, what do you want for Christmas?

Dad: Um, cycling shorts, maybe that CD?

(Yes, Dad gives a real answer! The only problem is that his birthday is two days before Christmas, which means double the presents. Also, his suggestions are never enough to cover both days.)

Me: Abi, what do you want for Christmas?

(Context: Abi is my 14 year old sister. Abi lists like a million things, none of which I really want to get her. I’m trying to be a cool older sister here, and it’s really hard!)

Don’t even bother asking your grandparents what they want for Christmas. They can’t tell you. Ask your parents what they think you should get them, or find something sentimental (like a family photo and frame it), you can’t really go wrong with that.

If all of the above fails, here is my family Christmas gift guide for you. I’m trying to make you panic less and spend less time Christmas shopping and more time on the beach. Hey, that’s what holidays are for. (Unless you’re like me and you’re still at work until a couple of days before Christmas and you’re trying to squeeze in your Christmas shopping after work and during lunch breaks. If this is you, it’s time to PANIC.)

Ok, let’s get to this gift guide.

MOTHERS

Mothers are tricky. If she does like bath stuff, I’d say totally go with something from Crabtree & Evelyn, their Christmas range this year is just stunning. We’ve already spoken about this lovely range on the beauty page for A Fashion Friend, and you can see this here.

If she’s got a sense of humor, this Honey I Washed The Kids soap from LUSH is perfect, and it’s only R36.50 per 100g.

This product is actually on my Christmas wishlist too – Feeling Younger from LUSH. It is the greatest highlighter, and just brightens your skin tone to give you some radiance. The nice thing about this product is you can apply it using your fingers, and your mom can just add it to her daily moisturizer of foundation – no fuss! You can get it for R165.

If she’s not into bath or beauty stuff, welcome, you’re in the same boat as me. But we’ll chat about that another time.

FATHERS

For the dads out there, why not spoil them with some beauty products this Christmas? It’s pretty perfect because I know my dad doesn’t buy that kinda stuff for himself. This dirty shaving cream from LUSH is just R89 for 100g.

Fathers need face moisturizers and all that shizz too – I know my dad kinda likes the stuff from Nivea, so throw some of that in your dad’s stocking.

SISTERS

Sisters are a bit easier than mothers, but harder than fathers. Especially if like me, you’re the older sister and want to impart some knowledge with your present.

LUSH seems to be winning in this gift guide. Any sister will love this Santa Baby Lip Tint, at R85 you can get them for girl cousins too!

What else do girls like? They like having beautiful hair obviously. This leave in conditioner from Dove is just the thing, it leaves your hair nourished but doesn’t weigh it down. You can find it at any Clicks and Pick n Pay stores.

If this leave in conditioner isn’t what you’re looking for, this Dove hair treatment is a perfect stocking filler!

If you’ve got a really little sister, she’ll totally go crazy for this Hello Kitty shampoo and conditioner! You can get this from Woolies for R50.

BROTHERS

Ok, let me just get this out of the way first. I don’t have any brothers so I have no idea what beauty products they would like for Christmas! A new razor? Body wash? Cologne? People with brothers – please help me out here!

GRANDMOTHERS

Grandmothers like Crabtree & Evelyn too, well mine does. Try to steer away from the old lady smell (to me this is normally lavender). The Noel candle is beautiful and it smells amazing so I think your grandmother would love that.

She will also love some handcream, don’t all ladies? Woolies has some amazing handcream with some awesome packaging which your gran will love! It even has SPF 15.

GRANDFATHERS

What grandfather doesn’t like chocolate? Go with that option. Otherwise, they also need skin care stuff like your dad. Get some Nivea products for him, the anti-aging range maybe? Might make him laugh. I would love to hear what beauty products you would buy your grandfather, I think this is rather tricky.

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